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Garfield
Garfield is the main character of his self-titled comic strip, created by Jim Davis. An orange-furred cat capable of articulate speech, he lives in a house which he shares with his owner, Jon Arbuckle, and the dog Odie. Garfield is lazy; obsesses overeating (his favorite food being lasagna), drinking coffee, and taking naps; and has a disdain for Mondays, raisins, and dieting. Syndicated in over 2,500 newspapers and journals, Garfield's comic series has been lauded by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's most widely syndicated comic strip. Beyond his original strip, he has appeared on television and in CGI animated films. History with the Macy's Parade America's Comic Stars Float (1983) Garfield made his Macy's Parade debut in 1983, as a costumed character on the lower area of the America's Comic Stars float, with many other comic strip icons. Garfield (1984) But, his debut as a balloon was in 1984, and was the first balloon, alongside Raggedy Ann to be created by Raven Industries. The balloon is 60-foot long, 35 foot wide, weighed 398 pounds and required 18,907 cubic feet of helium to be inflated. Garfield became a parade staple and appeared for 6 parades, leading the parade in 1986 and 1988, until 1989, where he had a brief retirement between 1990 and 1991. In 1992, he made a comeback to celebrate his 15th birthday in 1993 and led the parade that year. The balloon made 8 more appearances until it was ultimately retired after the 1999 parade due to his aging. Garfield was often near the front of the balloon lineup, normally as the second balloon (with the exception of the 1989 and 1994 parades). It is speculated that the balloon still survives at the parade studio, but this remains uncertain. Appearances Outside of the Macy's Parade In addition to appearing in the main parade for over a decade, Garfield toured to Atlanta to participate in the Macy's-Eagleston Christmas Parade in 1989, alongside other 80's balloons such as Spider-Man and Raggedy Ann. After that, he was shipped back to New York City. A few years later, he went to show up at the Tap-O-Mania event of 1993, alongside a couple of other balloons. Then, a little after, he would take part in the 1996 Balloon-A-Thon with many other balloons from that time period that were still in use. Toon Balloon-Abration Float (2001) In 2001, Garfield appeared once again in a costumed character version on the special Toon Balloon-Abration float, along with walk-around versions of Kermit the Frog, Skating Snoopy, Sonic the Hedgehog, and other characters whose balloons in the parade had been retired. Garfield and Pooky (2003) In 2003, an all-new balloon of Garfield appeared as Macy's Holiday Ambassador to celebrate his 25th Anniversary. This time, he stands on two legs and carries his pal Pooky. Said to be the size of 37,000 pans of lasagna, this new balloon requires 14,000 cubic feet of helium to fill him up. Unlike the original balloon, this version of the balloon appeared at the end of the balloon lineup, as the last (2003 and 2006) or third-to-last (2004-2005) respectively. This balloon was retired after the 2006 Parade, after making 4 appearances in this design, and 18 appearances overall. Since then, a new Garfield balloon has yet to be introduced. Music * What's New Pussycat? (Quincy Jones Version) (1984) * Generic Macy's Music #1 (1985, 1989, 1992) * What's New Pussycat? (Milton Delugg Version) (1986-1988, 1993, 1996) * Alley Cat (Milton Delugg Version) (1994-1995, 1997-1999, 2006) * What's New Pussycat? (Different Milton Delugg version) (2003-2005) Incidents *In 1984, Garfield's left paw was punctured by an unknown obstacle. *In 1986, Garfield's left front paw was damaged by a lamppost before the parade even began, and his back right paw was damaged by a tree during the route due to a strong gust of wind. *In 1992, Garfield's body and tail were pushed around due to the heavy rain, but the balloon remained undamaged. As a result, the balloon occasionally flailed around. *In 1995, Garfield hit a lamppost,a but bounced back and no damage was done to the balloon. *In 1997, Garfield's paw was deflated and his tail got damaged due to the overnight windy conditions. *In 1998, A wind gust pushed Garfield into a tree at 77th Street, causing a chamber inside the balloon to burst. Because of this, he had to be removed from the parade. After he was deflated, his handlers would instead help out the Arthur balloon. *At BalloonFest 2003, Garfield could not begin his test flight due to high winds. *In 2004, Garfield suffered damage from his right paw after getting caught in a Central Park tree. Defects * In 1993 and 1999, Garfield's tail was slightly bent. * In 1999, Garfield's right ear was slightly bent. Trivia The first Garfield balloon was one of only a few Raven Aerostar balloons to not utilize a fiberglass model during its construction. a plush doll was utilized. Gallery Gallery: Garfield Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:Cartoon Characters Category:Movie Characters Category:1984 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:2003 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Retired Balloons Category:Big Balloons Category:Comic Book Characters Category:1980s Balloons Category:2000s Balloons Category:Male Balloons Category:Raven Aerostar Balloons Category:Balloons used outside of the parade Category:Balloons that were in an accident Category:Comeback Balloon in the Parade Category:Balloons that got removed from the parade